Summary
Despite being a controversial entry in the franchise,The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Swordintroduced a lot of ideas that the series has yet to circle back to in some of its recent entries. WhileZelda: Tears of the Kingdomfeatures sky exploration in addition to traversal around the land of Hyrule and the Depths below, it’s not a direct sequel toThe Legend of Zelda: Skyward Swordand fails to follow up on certain story elements of that title. There is one major part ofSkyward Sword’s plot that could be the premise for a futureZeldatitle if the series wants to create another open-world entry.
While it’s already been confirmed that thenextZeldagame will likely ditch the version of Hyrulethat players have become familiar with betweenBreath of the WildandTears of the Kingdom, this title could still retain a similarly open world map. As such, the next entry in theZeldaseries has the perfect opportunity to pick up whereSkyward Swordleaves off in theZeldatimeline and tell the tale of how the people of Skyloft came to settle the land down below in what would eventually become known as the Kingdom of Hyrule.
A Skyward Sword Sequel Could Explore Hyrule’s First Settlements
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Swordacts as a prequel to the series, taking place at the earliest point of theZeldatimeline. With the next game on the timeline beingThe Minish Cap, there is a big gap in time between the two eras these games are set in that is perfect for the nextZeldagame to fill.Skyward Swordends with Link, Zelda, and the people of Skyloft descending to the surface world to begin repopulating it after the defeat of Demise brought the land back to being inhabitable, leaving the door open for a future game to expand upon these events.
This ending gives a potentialSkyward Swordsequel the perfect basis for an open-world game that sees players getting to explore the uncharted land that would become Hyrule for the first time. Not only could this type of game give players the chance to discover a much more feral version of Hyrule, but it could introduce a new settlement-building mechanic to shake up the series' gameplay as well. Games likeAnimal CrossingorLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth’s Dondoko Islandshow the value of having a mode where players can build a town however they like, and theZeldaseries already has a strong foundation for this mechanic.
Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom Already Have the Foundation for Settlement-Building Mechanics
Much like howBreath of the WildandTears of the Kingdomdrastically iterated upon theZeldaseries' established formula, anopen-worldSkyward Swordsequelthat places emphasis on both exploration and settlement building would take the series to the next level once again.Breath of the WildandTears of the Kingdomintroduced light survival crafting elements to theZeldaseries, and a game like this could see those mechanics expanded upon to their logical next level. The premise of repopulating and charting an unexplored world following the events ofSkyward Swordcould create the perfect balance between settlement building, survival crafting, and action exploration gameplay.
TheTarrey Town side quest inBreath of the Wildshows what a potential settlement-building mechanic in this future game could play like, as players would need to recruit townsfolk to act in different roles as they establish the Kingdom of Hyrule. Players could also have to deal with the remaining forces of Demise attacking the settlement via raids, forcing them to fortify their towns appropriately and manage their time between exploration and town building. While a lot of these mechanics have been seen in games before, aZeldagame could put its own unique spin on them while further developing the lore of a post-Skyward Swordtimeline.
